Any job growth would be good news for the San Diego area, which has continued to add workers in recent months, but also has maintained a high unemployment rate following the economic recession.

During December, the area's unemployment rate decreased from 10.4 percent to 10.1 percent, after rising from 10.3 percent during November. Despite the latest drop, the area's rate is still higher than the national average of 9.4 percent.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos area employed 1,225,100 workers during December, which is up from 1,222,500 workers during November and a .5 percent increase from the previous year.

However, SDWP Director Mark Cafferty told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the EMSI study is somewhat conservative when compared to current job postings. However, he said he prefers more conservative estimates so as not to disappoint job seekers.

"Employers can be very, very picky right now because there are so many people available in the market," Cafferty said. "And some businesses are still holding off hiring because they feel they've learned to do more work with fewer workers."